


and my heart is set on you

by igotfeels



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bad Jokes, Fluff, Misunderstandings, Popular Harry, Shy Louis, Twerking, dubstep - Freeform, las ketchup, nouis friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-12
Updated: 2013-12-12
Packaged: 2018-01-04 11:16:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1080371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/igotfeels/pseuds/igotfeels
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“How to avoid your crush to make him fall in love with you.” A story by Louis Tomlinson.</p>
            </blockquote>





	and my heart is set on you

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know how this got so long, it was supposed to be like 3,000 words... but life is just full of surprises I guess! Hope you like it!

It had all been a relatively quiet morning, just the way Louis liked it. The morning sun had casted a yellow shine over the sky, a bit like in the intro for the Lion King, and it had made Louis feel at ease. 

He had done his final Grease performance the night earlier and was quite sleepy during his classes due to a lack of sleep. So nothing out of the usual, then.

That is, until he entered the lunch line, and he was startled awake. And it wasn’t because they were serving enchiladas. 

“ _Niall_ ,” he hissed, but earning no response. “ _Niall!_ ” 

Startled, Niall turned around with wide eyes. “What?” 

Louis grabbed his arm and held on tightly. “Niall, he is right there.” Louis made intense eye contact to empathise his point. “As in, _right there._ ” Louis gestured his head over Niall’s shoulder. “Oh my god. I look hideous today. I didn’t get a proper night’s sleep. I haven’t even styled my hair!”

“You look fine, Lou. You always do. 

“But still, he’s right there. I need to hide.”

Niall dropped his fork and gave Louis a grave look. “Do you need me to call 911?” He grabbed Louis’ shoulder, looking deep into his eyes. “I would. You know I would.”

Louis shoved his hand off. “Piss off.” 

Snorting, Niall started picking up food again. “What do you want me to do then?” 

Louis quickly looked around the cafeteria, making sure nobody overheard him. Finally, he whispered back, “I need you to cover me.”

“Cover for you?” Niall repeated. 

“Yeah,” Louis said. “As in provide me with shelter.”

“Fine,” Niall agreed, still in the process of picking up food. 

Louis smiled. “Thanks.”

Not like this was anything out of the ordinary, anyway. Every time a certain too popular, too unattainable, too sexy for words, too _why can’t I find the courage to talk to you_ , too _why are you existing_ , too _why are you torturing me_ , and once again, way too popular, curly haired boy appeared, it became almost routine to either run away or hide. Louis was pretty sure Niall had come to terms with this by now. Like, it’s been what, seven month? Yeah, Louis was pretty sure. 

Not that Louis have been counting the days since Louis and Harry had had their first, and their only conversation; and Louis’ life had changed forever. 

(“Shit,” Louis had muttered as he accidentally dropped his geography text books to the ground. 

He was standing by his locker, already late for class, and his shoes were wet after walking in the snow to school, and he was hungry because he hadn’t had any breakfast, and he was annoyed because he had just dropped his books to the ground and he didn’t want to pick them up. 

Groaning, Louis started banging his head into the locker. He really was good at handling his problems. Like, name one thing a good headache couldn’t fix. 

“Are you okay?” A deep voice asked, breaking him out of his head banging. 

Louis took a step back and saw a somewhat familiar guy standing in front of him, with his books in his hands. He was looking at Louis not at all mockingly, but with genuine concern. 

And he was really pretty. 

The boy in front of Louis was really, really pretty. 

Louis flushed red. “Perfect.” 

The boy handed over the books. “I’m Harry.”

Right. Harry Styles. Louis had heard of him, had seen him around from time to time. They were in the same year, but spent their time around completely different people. Harry was one of the popular guys who go to a lot of dates, socialise with a lot of cool people and do a lot of cool stuff. Whatever that meant. Probably the opposite of what Louis did, which consisted watching Friends on repeat with his little sisters. 

“Thank you,” he said and accepted the books. 

“Are you running late?”

“Mhm.”

“Yeah, me too,” Harry said, grinning for some reason, looking down on his shoes. When he looked back up, he smiled a bit giddy. “It’s my birthday today. I turn seventeen.”

Louis blinked. “Oh. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.” Harry beamed. “Nice scarf, by the way. Suits you.”

 _Jesus Christ._ Louis swallowed. “Um. Thank you.”

“Look, I need to go but I’ll see you around, yeah?” 

Louis nodded. Probably not.

“Bye, Louis!” Harry said and waved his hand as he walked away. 

Louis waved awkwardly back. 

That boy actually was really, _really_ pretty. And really, _really_ nice.

And Louis was just really, _really_ inadequate.)

Obviously, Louis knew should be able to talk to Harry because if there was one thing Harry was known for; it was for being nice. Which is exactly what Louis liked about him. All of the other popular kids were all kind of douchebags who thought they were superior to everyone else, but not Harry. He was humble and sweet. The kind of guy to pick up your dropped books. Everyone said so, because everyone knew him somehow. Or, everyone but Louis because he didn’t have the guts to stand within ten meters distance of him. 

Really, the only negative thing about Harry Styles that Louis could think of was that he always wore the same black trousers. Like … _always_. It’s weird.

After both Niall and Louis had taken their food, Louis searched through the cafeteria with his eyes until he yet again spotted Harry, Zayn, Liam and all of the other cool, popular guys sitting at their usual table. Niall seemed to have seen them as well and gave Louis one affirmative nod. 

“The only free table is at the other side,” Louis whispered in Niall’s ear. “Which means you’ll have to walk in front of me and I’ll be right behind you. Or, like, to your right. Hopefully, he won’t see me.”

“Alright, captain,” Niall said, not even bothering to comment on how fucked up Louis’ tactic to get his crush's affection was. 

“Ready?” Louis asked and Niall nodded. “Ready, set, go!”

At the same time, they quickly walked through the sea of tables, not giving anyone a second look. They had their destination, and would not get side tracked. Louis held his breath as they passed Harry’s, Liam’s and Zayn’s table and released it once they has passed, feeling his body being filled with relief. That is, until he heard a very familiar voice call out for him. 

“Hey, Lou!”

Freezing in his steps, he slowly turned around. This wasn’t part of the plan. This was most definitely not part of the plan.

Behind him, at the table facing Harry’s, sat Eleanor, one of his closest friends from theatre practise, looking painfully smug. 

“Yes?” Louis choked out, feeling his cheeks getting red. _Leave. Abort. Code red._

“How are you, sweetheart?” She smiled a deceivingly gentle smile, as if Louis couldn’t tell what evil plans must be going through her mind. 

“Good,” he replied shortly, pointedly keeping his gaze at Eleanor and not at whoever else might be within in looking distance. 

“That’s nice,” she said, her smile growing. 

Louis turned around and found Niall standing behind him, waiting on him. He turned back to Eleanor. “Um, look, I need to go. Me and Niall were planning on –“

“Oh, but look!” She interrupted, waving a hand over two empty chairs. “It’s two spare seats. You should sit down with us!” 

Louis could feel his hands beginning to sweat. “Um,” Louis stuttered, “actually, we were planning on having lunch by ourselves today. Quality time, and all that.”

“But you always have lunch by yourselves!” Eleanor argued, pouting. “Why won’t you sit with us?”

One of Eleanor’s friends, Perrie, also known as Zayn’s girlfriend, turned around as well, “Yeah, come on, Lou. Sit with us.” 

Well. Louis couldn’t really back off now, could he? It’d be too weird. Besides, he was friends with both Eleanor, Perrie, Danielle and Sophia. If there was anyone he should be spending quality time with, it was them. He turned to face Niall who only gave a lose shrug; obviously he didn’t really want to turn down the opportunity to sit with four attractive females. “Fine,” Louis reluctantly agreed.

“Yay!” Eleanor exclaimed, and _honestly,_ could she be louder? She didn’t have to catch you-know-who’s interest. 

His mouth pressed into a tight line, Louis went to sit down next to her, Niall following his lead. He did absolutely not spare a second glance at the table in front of them. 

“Right,” Louis said and cleared his throat. “Well, um. Lovely whether we have today.”

“Lou,” Eleanor chuckled, raising an eyebrow, “it’s raining.”

“Details!” Louis sighed exasperatedly. “Besides, perhaps some of us like getting wet!” 

Eleanor just stared at him. “Did you really just –“

“Let’s just drop it, alright,” Louis said shortly and started cutting his enchiladas in halves. 

The lunch actually went rather well after that. Louis had to admit the girls were really nice. Obviously, he had talked to every single of them before; he usually went along better with girls in general. Pretty much all of his friends were female. Apart from Niall. He, however, also found pleasure in women’s company. 

The only frustrating part was that Eleanor kept shoving him with her elbow and waggling her eyebrows suggestively, like the smug person that she was. Which Louis returned with a hit on her head. 

The conversation was regarding some History assignment and what they were all writing about. Louis told them he was doing a work regarding the Second World War when suddenly Perrie exclaimed, 

“What’s that, babe?” She was looking at something in front of their table, which Louis did not need to check what it was. 

None the less, Louis slowly moved his head so it was given a slight peak at the other table. There were all of the popular males, looking at them. Except for Harry who was looking down on his food. Good thing that, Louis did not currently possess the strength required for eye contact. 

“I was just saying,” Zayn basically shouted, “that Harry’s throwing a party this Friday and you should come.”

“Oh, really?” Perrie shouted back, beaming. “We will definitely be there! Count us in!”

Louis watched as Harry suddenly leaned in to whisper something in Zayn’s ear, before leaning back in his seat, looking back down at his food. 

Zayn cleared his throat, his eyes returning to Louis’ table. “And that goes for all of you, by the way. Like, everyone at the table.”

Realisation struck Louis. He was invited? Because no one could possibly deny that he was sitting at their table. 

Niall seemed to have realised this as well, and turned to face him, grinning. “Lou, that means we can come too!”

Louis’ cheeks were burning, and his heartbeat was quick. This much stress was not healthy for an ordinary Wednesday afternoon. “I don’t know,” he whispered so the others wouldn’t hear, “I might be busy that day?” 

Niall gave him a sceptic look. “Oh, yeah? Doing what?” 

“Well, there’s the History paper,” Louis argued. 

“That’s due tomorrow.” 

“But I’m pretty sure my grandma’s visiting, actually –“

“Your grandma’s dead.”

“Maybe I was confusing her with someone else. Either way, I have this thing –“

“What thing?” 

“Like, this important time-consuming, totally requires me to be present thing, and I –“

Niall cut him off, looking at Perrie. “We’ll be there!” he declared, grinning proudly. 

Smiling, Perrie turned to Zayn again, shouting, “We will all be there, then!” 

“Great!” Zayn shouted back. 

With a defeated sigh, Louis turned to give Zayn’s table one more look, his eyes going straight to Harry when suddenly, his heart stopped. Because he was looking back at him. Harry was looking at him. Harry was looking at Louis. Harry’s green eyes were looking directly into Louis’. They were making eye contact. 

Louis’ body went ice cold and fiercely hot at the same time, and he stopped breathing. He was absolutely paralysed and couldn’t move. And neither did Harry. They just sat there, staring at one another. And what made it all worse was that Harry was smiling. His plump, thick, kissable lips were tilted upward into a small, but definitely present smile. 

What was going on? How did this happen? Was Louis dreaming? 

Dream or not, he was broken out of it by Niall waving a hand in front of his face. “Earth to Louis. Hello?” 

Louis blinked and watched him. “Huh?” 

“I was just asking if you had finished.”

“Oh.” Louis looked down at his empty plate. “Eh, yeah, uh. Yes.”

“Great,” Niall said and stood up. “Because we are leaving.”

Niall, Louis and the girls exited the cafeteria, and Louis was just an endless pile of nerves. He saw that he boys at the opposite table also got up and consequentially started walking faster 

Later that day, when he got home, he was still struggling with his uncontainable mix of excitement and nerves. 

It was a good thing he had something important to focus on – his History paper. 

Therefore, he did the same thing every other respectable, motivated student would have done – he opened up Harry Style’s Facebook. 

It’s not like Louis was crazy. Really, he wasn’t. Honestly, stalking your crush on facebook is quite customary these days. It’s actually rather odd not to do it. Alright, maybe doing it every day is a bit excessive. But still, that does not mean that it’s rare. Really, Louis could totally go catch himself a video camera, sit in front of it and talk about how he knows all of his crush's photo albums by heart. About how he screamed into a pillow when he had accepted Louis’ friend request. How he is always staring at the chat, hoping he’ll write. He could then post the video on YouTube and get like one million views – he would be relatable. He could be the next Danisnotonfire; Louisisnotonfire. Um. Maybe that’s copying. Louisisnotondrugs. Louisisnotcrazy. Crazynotislouis. Maybe that could be Louis’ creative, innovative, original thing; he could talk like Yoda! “My crush, I stalk.” “Like this video, you should.” “Insane, I am.” “Shut up, I should.”

Or maybe he should not procrastinate by imagining his future YouTube career, which he has accepted will never happen (he and Troye Sivan would have made such good friends, though) and do his fucking homework. Or, he could also look through his favourite out of Harry’s photo albums called, “whatever people say I drink, that’s what I don’t” again and pretend that the reason he wasn’t there was because he was at his grandma’s funeral and not because he wasn’t invited. His favourite pic was one from Zayn taking a shot from Harry's stomach.

Ah yes. It sure is good to be alive. 

Which reminded him that he had a party to go to this Friday. 

Louis was screwed.

\--

From Louis: _What should I wear??_

From Niall: _Can’t you wear that cute top and those tight trousers? ;)_

From Louis: _Omg! You’re the best Niall, thank you, of course! <3 _

Beaming, Louis picked up his favourite white trousers as well as his favourite, cute grey top. Niall really was a genius. Louis wondered if he had ever considered a career in fashion. Probably not, because he wears the same clothes like, three days in a row. _Ew._ And Louis has still not recovered from his “scarves” phase. God knows Louis is the only person on the planet who can pull of a good scarf. The others can die trying.

To his great surprise, Louis was actually relatively calm when he met up with Niall at the bus stop.

“How do I look?” Louis asked, doing a pirouette. 

“As stunning as summer’s day,” Niall complimented.

“Oh, stop it,” Louis giggled. 

Niall continued. “Like the inspiration for Justin Timberlake’s “Sexy back”.”

“Nah, you’re just saying that,” Louis said, waving his hand dismissively. 

Niall used his hand to pretend he was picking up his phone. “Hello, who is it? Right, right. Yeah, I’ll look.” He then pretended who hang up.

“Who was it?” Louis asked, coyly. 

Niall winked. “It was God asking if I had seen his most beautiful angel anywhere.”

Okay, Louis was obviously all aboard with compliments but that was a bit too much. He fell down to the floor in a pile of laughter. “Oh my god, Niall! It’s a wonder you’re still single!”

Louis laid on the ground, chuckling into the asphalt, when he heard Niall say, “Lou?” 

“Yeah?” 

“You’re probably straining your clothes.”

Shrieking, Louis quickly rose to his feet and started manically straighten out his clothes, praying there weren’t any stains on them. “Oh my god,” he whined. “My outfit is totally ruined.”

“It’s fine,” Niall said. “You still look wonderful.”

Louis stopped in his movement and gave Niall a glassy eyed look. “You’re so sweet.”

Niall put his hands to his hips. “Do you feel complimented enough? Are you ready to take this party by storm?” 

Louis nodded his head eagerly. “Yeah, I’m so ready.”

“Good, because the bus is coming our way.”

“Oh.” Louis turned around and saw the bus getting closer and closer. He picked up his bus card. 

Once they were sat down on the bus, Louis turn to face Niall, a grave look on his face. “Right. Now time to get serious.”

Niall nodded. “I actually have something to say, too.”

Louis raised his eyebrows. “You do? What’s that?”

“Well,” Niall said, “you know that dance routine we did when we were five?” 

“You mean to The Ketchup Song by Las Ketchup?” 

“Yeah, that one!” Niall confirmed. “Do you think we will be able to do that as some point? Because I think the chicks will dig that. Like, boys being artistic and stuff.”

“Um.” Louis furrowed his eyebrows together. “I mean, obviously I don’t have a problem with it, but I don’t know if they will be playing those sort of songs. I mean, I’m no expert, but from what I’ve read – don’t they usually play dubstep at parties?”

“Oh.” Niall considered this. “You mean like Rihanna?” 

“Exactly,” Louis said. “Or Katy Perry.”

“Right.” Niall scratched the back of his neck. “But if they do play it, or if I get them to play it, do you promise you’ll do the routine with me?” 

Louis nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, of course!” 

Niall brought forward his pinkie. “Pinkie promise?” 

Louis grabbed it with his own. “Pinkie promise.”

Niall put his hands back in his lap. “So, what did you want to talk about?” 

“Well,” Louis said as he started digging in his bag for his notebook. “I’ve made some notes for us.”

Niall nodded attentively. 

Louis turned to the right page, cleared his throat and started going through his writings. “Right, well, first of all. We keep together. We don’t abandon each other.”

Louis gave Niall a pointing look, and he shook his head dramatically. “No, Jesus, of course not.”

“Good. Now, second of all,” Louis continued, “is that if I start to look stupid, like my hair gets messed up or something, I need you to tell me.”

“Sure thing,” Niall said. “But that goes both ways, though.”

Louis winked at him. “You always look amazing sweetheart, you have nothing to worry about.”

Niall grinned proudly. “Thanks, Lou.”

“You’re welcome.” Louis shrugged cheerfully, before turning page in his notebook and suddenly he had to take three deep breaths. 

“Shit, you alright?” Niall asked, alarmed. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Louis breathed. “It’s just, we just got to the serious part, right now.”

Louis raised the notebook and showed the page with a clear headline saying, “HARRY STYLES”. 

Niall swallowed. “Oh, boy.”

“Yeah.” Louis wiped his forehead from the sweat. “Anyway, so I looked through his Facebook likes again, and as I already knew, he likes music a lot. Like, he’s in a band and listens to all these random, hipster groups whose names I couldn’t be bothered to learn. Like, I have them all written down here just in case, but, yeah. However, I did learn that Arctic Monkeys is his favourite band of all time, which means –“ Louis turned to give Niall an intense look. “Can you do something for me?”

Niall nodded. “Anything.”

“Well, if the three of us end up in a conversation I need _you_ ,” Louis pointed at Niall, “to casually bring up Arctic Monkeys, so _I_ can go;” Louis brought a hand to his chest and started batting his eyelashes, “oh my god, “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not”, is totally my favourite CD of all time!”

Niall gasped. “That’s such a brilliant plan, Lou!”

“It is, isn’t it?” Louis exclaimed, delighted. “Then he’ll totally realise that we’re soul mates and it will be magical, and we will get married, and he will kiss me on the mouth, and everything will be perfect!”

Niall nodded. “Yeah, that will probably work. But I mean, you should probably tell him at some point that your favourite CD is actually the Grease Soundtrack. You shouldn’t hide your personality, Lou.”

“No, of course not!” Louis quickly agreed. “But I mean, as you said, _at some point._ I mean, once realises he’s in love with me, I’ll have my entire life to tell him.”

“Makes sense.”

Pleased, Louis put the notebook back into his bag. 

“The next stop is actually where we’re getting off,” Niall said. 

“Iiih,” Louis shrieked and started clapping his hands. “So excited! You brought the alcohol too, right?”

Niall snorted. “Of course.”

The two boys got off the bus and started walking around the area looking for Harry’s house. It was quite a posh neighbourhood, almost every house having a pool and a massive garden. Louis concluded that Harry must be rich then. Which he didn’t really have a problem with, all things considered. Not that he wouldn’t have liked him if he was poor, of course. Louis was a good person like that. 

“Do you know where exactly he lives?” Niall asked. 

“Um,” Louis said when he suddenly spotted a familiar do of pink hair at the other side of the street. “Look, there’s Perrie. Perrie!”

At the sound of his voice, Perrie turned around, as well as the girls around her; Eleanor, Danielle and Sophia. “Louis!” Perrie shouted, waving her hand for them to come over.

Louis and Niall quickly made their way over the street, and to where the three girls were standing in front of a massive mahogany coloured house, which Louis could only assume was Harry’s, looking stunning in high heels and gorgeous makeup. 

Sometimes Louis wished he was born female so he could dress like that as well without it “being weird”. 

“Oh my goodness!” Louis exclaimed, looking at them. “You look incredible. I’m, like, so jealous!”

“You’re one to talk, gorgeous,” Perrie said, taking a drag from her cigarette. “And I’ve told you I’ll dye your hair pink any moment, sweetie.”

“Nah,” Louis said, dragging his fringe out of his face. “I’m more of a brown hair kind of man.” It was true. Louis didn’t think pink exactly highlighted his best features. He had bought a violet shirt once, and it had just looked weird. He turned to Niall. “Didn’t you want to dye your hair lilac?” 

Niall shrugged. “Still weighing the pros and cons.”

“Right, anyway, time for the real talk,” Louis said and started digging his hand in his bag, and brought up his favourite item of clothing, holding it in his hand. “Alright girls, scarf or no scarf?”

“Put the scarf on,” Danielle instructed. 

Louis did as he was told, and put the navy blue scarf around his neck, smiling widely, waiting for a response. 

“Hm.” Perrie examined him closely. “I think you’re better without. That way we can see your lovely neck.”

Louis put it bag in the bag. “If you say so.”

“Hey,” Eleanor said and draped an arm our Louis’ shoulder. “I say we enter the house. Everyone is already getting started.” 

Louis pouted and looked at Niall. “But I’m not ready.”

“Come on, Lou,” Eleanor said and started walking forward, taking Louis along with her. Niall skipped alongside of them. 

She opened the door, and they were soon hit by warm air and a loud bass thumping through the building, in a song Louis did absolutely not recognise. They were standing in the foyer and in front of them were a girl and a boy Louis faintly recognised, but who didn’t spare Louis a second look. 

“This is not Katy Perry,” Louis whispered in Niall’s ear. 

Niall only shook his head. 

Eleanor grabbed Louis’ hand. “Let’s go find your future boyfriend!”

“He’s not my future boyfriend-“ Louis argued, but was dragged further into the house by Eleanor’s persistent hand. 

They stopped in front of the living room, and Louis peaked his head over Eleanor's shoulder. Inside sat a lot of strangers; cool people Louis had never laid his eyes on before, and some he sort of recognised from school, but had never shared a word with. His heart started beating extra quickly when he spotted some familiar hair belonging to no other than Liam Payne and Zayn Malik. Swallowing, Louis eyes continued to search through the room when he saw the unmistakable mop of curls belonging only to a very special somebody, on the couch next to Liam and Zayn. 

Louis grabbed Niall’s hand. “There he is.”

“Who’s he talking to?” Niall asked, holding onto his hand. 

Louis had been so consumed by his hair that he hadn’t noticed that he was bent forward, deep into a conversation with a man on chair in front of him. He was tall, wore a deep green shirt and his high quiff was also, sadly so, unmistakable. 

Louis snorted. “That’s Nick Grimshaw.” 

Niall grinned, delighted. “Oh! I love his radio show!”

Louis gave him sour look. 

Niall cleared his throat and quickly added, “No, I mean, what an idiot. Eh, um. Yeah.”

“Why don’t you like Nick?” Eleanor asked, her head bent to the side. 

“Because,” Louis whined and crossed his arms over his chest, pouting, “he did a report on our Grease production and he said my interpretation of Danny was mediocre at the best, and that I couldn’t portray the edginess enough.” Louis huffed. He knew he shouldn’t care about what other people thought but he was worried Nick had a point. “Also, because he’s so tall that when I stand next to him I feel like a hobbit.”

“Lou,” Niall said, “if you’re a hobbit then you’re Frodo and I’m Sam.” 

“Aw,” Louis cooed. “Frodo is nothing without Sam.”

“Alright, alright,” Eleanor said impatiently, “enough with the sentimental. I want to see some kissing action.”

“Well,” Louis cried, “I can’t just go up and talk to him. He’s busy!” 

Eleanor put her hands to her hips. “Just thank him for inviting you. After all, it’s his party. It’s quite a customary thing to do.” 

Louis considered it. “I think I need a drink first. Get loose before I can bring out my A-game.”

“Alright,” Eleanor relented, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, “but I’m out of here, then. Text me if you’re hooking up.”

Louis also gave her kiss on her cheek. “Will do, love.”

As Eleanor walked back to where they came from, Niall gave Louis a look and asked, “Kitchen?” 

Louis nodded and they walked through the corridor leading to an impressive kitchen. It actually really was. 

Now, Louis didn’t exactly have much kitchen experience as such, but in his house there was constantly ketchup stains on the tables, open milk cartons as well as unwashed dishes everywhere and half-filled cups of tea spread throughout the room. His mum was naturally messy, and Louis did unfortunately share this personality trade. And his little sisters, well, they were just too young to hear the word “cleaning” without throwing a fit. 

This kitchen, however, was impeccable. There was a big window in the middle, filling the room with light and the walls as well as the cupboards were creamy white.

The only thing which messed up the otherwise idyllic kitchen, was the glasses which were spread everywhere, and the distinctive smell of liquor. And the four kids at the beautiful, antic table, doing some kind of drinking game. It did mess with the picture a bit. 

Niall and Louis stood at a counter which cut the kitchen in halves, facing each other as Niall started taking things out of his bag. 

“What’s that?” Louis asked, pointing at a box Niall had just brought up. 

“It’s a sandwich,” Niall explained. “You know, in case I get hungry. My mum made it.”

“Right. Smart thinking.”

Niall handed a beer over to Louis who took a long gulp. “Ah. I feel manly.” 

The two friends drank up their beers and was well into their second one when they started discussing if they’d rather move to the US or Australia. Louis was rambling on about how hot surfer boys were when Niall’s eyes suddenly went ridiculously wide and Louis stopped talking abruptly. 

Louis went ice cold. 

If this was a movie, then Louis would have gone, “He’s right behind me, isn’t he?” Niall would have gone, “Yes.” And Louis would have turned around and Harry would have stood right behind him, glaring at him. However, a) this wasn’t a movie and b) Harry wasn’t a creepy, axe-murderer who just stood behind people like that, but a civilised person.

Instead, Louis made a small, high-pitched noise, and Niall only gave a small nod, before suddenly someone quickly scooted in right next to Louis.

Louis turned his head to the right, and there was Harry Styles, beaming greatly. “You guys made it!” He exclaimed loudly, the epitome of excitement. Like a child at Christmas.

“Uh,” Louis stuttered, dumbstruck by the sudden movement. His heart was beating one million beats per minute, and suddenly his grip around his beer was really slack and sweaty. This is why he preferred the company of women. They didn’t give him heart attacks. He turned to Niall. “I mean, uh, yeah, like –“

“Yeah,” Niall joined in, “I mean, does seem like it, obviously. So, yeah.”

Harry seemed luckily unfazed by their lack of communication skills. He continued on beaming. “How long have you been here?”

Niall and Louis answered at the same time. 

“Ten minutes- ”

“One hour- ”

Harry gave them a confused look. 

“Uh,” Louis said and gave Niall a panicky look. “Like, one hour minus ten minutes. So, uh, fifty minutes.”

“Yeah, exactly,” Niall agreed and turned to Harry. “We’re telepathic, you see.”

“Right,” Harry chuckled, before turning to face Louis. Louis might be imagining things, but he was sure he was standing a bit too close than strictly necessary. He could feel his breath for Christ sake. Not that Louis minded, of course. Harry was looking at him directly, when he said, “Are you having a good time?” 

“Yeah!” Louis nodded eagerly. “Thank you so much for inviting us.”

Harry smirked, and bit his lip coyly. “You’re welcome.”

“I love the music, man,” Niall said. “Dubstep is totally the best thing.”

Louis looked away from Harry to Niall. “Yes!” He quickly agreed. “The best thing, ever.”

Niall nodded. “Especially this song. Really brings it to a whole new level.”

Harry gave Niall a long, pointing look. “This is Britney Spears.”

“Uh… yeah?” Niall stared blankly back at him, before looking at Louis, puzzled. 

Louis only shrugged. He didn’t know what dubstep was, either. He really should have googled that before coming here. 

There was a bit of an awkward pause before Niall suddenly exclaimed, “Oh!” As if he’d suddenly remembered something. “Do you know what else I love?” 

Both Louis and Harry shook their heads.

“Monkeys!” Niall exclaimed. “Especially the arctic ones.”

Niall gave Louis a very non-discrete wink and Louis could feel the panic rising inside of him. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. No, no, no. _Abort, code red, evacuate the area._

Harry stared at Niall, his eyebrows furrowed. “Um.”

Louis suddenly started laughing nervously, at the borderline to hysteric, and bent over the counter to grab the beer from Niall’s hand, with a pointing look on his face. “I think you’ve had a drink too many.”

“Right.” Niall seemed to gotten the hint and took a step back. “I think I’m going to the loo.” He walked around the counter and stopped in front of Louis. “If I could have my beer back, please.” Louis gave it to him. “Thank you.”

And just like that, Niall walked away and left Louis and Harry alone.

Louis was alone with Harry. Harry, who was still standing way too closely. And Louis, who was still having difficulties in the breathing area. 

“He’s Irish,” Louis told him, as if it explained everything. 

“I see,” Harry said, his brilliant, shining smile returning as if it had never left. Louis had to look away. 

“You have a very beautiful kitchen,” he said, inspecting it with an approving nod. 

“You think?”

Louis looked back at him. “Yeah.”

Harry beamed even bigger than before. “Thank you! Well, you see, I do a lot of cooking so I want it to be clean you know. Like, so I can work and be focused. I think the white really symbolises the simplicity and it’s really great because that’s usually what I’m striving for when I’m cooking.”

Louis blinked. “Right. Well, I never cook so I wouldn’t know. But it sounded like it made sense.”

Harry barked a loud laughter. “Thanks.” 

“Wish I could, though. Would have made cupcakes all the time. Or food, maybe.”

Harry had stopped laughing and looked at Louis intensively, his voice suddenly deeper when he said, “I’ll have to cook something for you, then.”

Louis frowned. “What, _now?_ ” 

Harry seemed struck by his answer. “Uh-“

“You don’t need to do that,” Louis quickly told him, waving his hand in refusal. “I mean, look!” He pointed Niall’s box. “Niall’s brought food.”

Harry raised his eyebrows. “He brought food?” 

“Yeah,” Louis said and opened the box, relieving the sandwich inside. “See.”

Harry looked at it and snorted. “I could have made something much better than that.”

Giggling, Louis closed the box again, and looked at Harry shyly. “I wouldn’t.”

Harry smiled at him, and Louis could hear someone changing the song in the living room from Britney Spears into some classic rock song. It sounded like “Don’t stop believing” by Journey.

Louis absently wondered what Niall was up to – maybe it was he who had changed the song. 

“Hey,” Harry said and bumped Louis' hip lightly. “I saw you in Grease.”

“You did?” Louis exclaimed, surprised. He’d never even considered that Harry had gone to any of his shows. “No way!”

“Yeah.” Harry nodded, his eyes warm. “I went with a friend who was doing some sort of radio report on the show and then I liked it so much that I went again.”

Louis’ cheeks were bright red, and his body fiercely hot. “Really? How many times?” 

“Well, I went to every show, and I think you did it five times?” 

Louis nodded, beaming. “So, what did you think?” 

“Well,” Harry said and shuffled even closer, “if I went five times, I obviously must have liked it, wouldn’t I?” 

Louis giggled and looked down at the table, away from Harry’s bright eyes. “I guess.”

“Thought Danny was really fit,” Harry continued. 

“Oh, so you though I was good then?” Louis let out a relieved sigh. “Just because I know some people didn’t really like my performance.”

Harry only shrugged. “People have different taste. But I thought you were brilliant and that you sang really well.”

“I’m so happy to hear that,” Louis said honestly and put a hand to his chest. “Because this will sound really, really stupid but the Grease Soundtrack is actually my favourite CD of all time and it makes me a bit upset when people say that I didn’t play the part well.”

Shaking his head slowly, Harry looked at him with a gentle smile on his face. “It’s not stupid at all. And you were amazing, for the record.” 

“Thanks.” Louis bit his lip. 

“I’m actually a singer myself,” Harry said, proudly. “I’m in a band and everything.”

“I know!” Louis quickly said. White Eskimo. He had done his research. Or, wait. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to have known that. He quickly added, “Or, like, so I’ve heard. What are you guys called?”

Harry chuckled. “White Eskimo.”

“Right. Cool name.”

“Thanks.” Harry grinned. “We actually have a gig next Friday. You should come.”

“Oh my god, can I?” Louis beamed and started jumping up and down in excitement. “The only concert I’ve been to is Cascada when I was like twelve.”

“Yeah, I mean, it’s not much of a concert, really. It’s very small. Like, we will only be like –“

“Stop it, I’m sure it will be epic,” Louis cut him off. “Just tell me the details and I’ll be there.”

Harry nodded his head eagerly. “Yeah, yeah, of course.” His hand went to pick up something from his back pocket and he said, slowly, looking at Louis hesitantly. “Actually, um, I was thinking that, if you want to of course, but that maybe you could give me your –“

Louis’ breath hitched. 

Harry gave hive a wide eyed look. “What?”

“This song,” Louis whispered. 

And sure enough, from the living room came the familiar beat from a very certain Spanish song, which Louis would have recognised anywhere. 

“Huh?” Harry asked. 

“Las Ketchup!” Louis exclaimed excitedly and started sprinting towards the living room, before turning around to face Harry, who stared at him dumb struck. “Harry, come on!”

Harry quickly went behind Louis and followed as he rushed into the living room to the speakers where Niall was standing. 

“You made it!” Niall exclaimed happily when he saw Louis coming. 

Louis stopped in front of him, grinning. “I promised, didn’t I?”

Niall took a step forward and whispered in his ear, “There’s this girl to the left I really want to impress.”

Louis looked to the left and saw a brunette watching them with an amused smile on her face. Louis winked at Niall. “Gotcha.”

“One, two, three –“ Niall said, and the chorus began and they did their routine. 

Hands to their hips, shaking them, doing a spin, changing positions, clapping their hands, jumping in a circle, and ending on their knees in a cool pose. 

Louis knew the routine by heart, and could really focus on getting the booty shake right. 

When they were done, Louis grinned over at Niall, giving him a high five when he heard someone grumble, “I just don’t get how he got the leading part.” And someone whispering something back.

Louis stomach dropped. He didn’t even need to look to know who had said it. 

Suddenly, Louis wasn’t very happy anymore. He stared at the ground, knowing he should probably stand back up again, when he there was a pair on knees in front of him. 

He looked up and saw Harry beaming at him, his smile impossibly wide. “You were so good!”

Suddenly, Louis was very happy again. He smiled as big as he could. “You think?” 

Licking his lips, Harry leaned forward, his breath hot against Louis’ ear. His voice was low and rough when he said, “Teach me.”

“Oh, um,” Louis stuttered, flustered, before collecting himself and saying, “Yeah, sure,” and standing up, bringing Harry up with him. 

Harry immediately stepped forward and crowded his space, making Louis smell of perfume, which made him somewhat dizzy. Men’s perfume really was the hottest thing in the world. 

Louis grabbed his hips and gave them a push. “Turn around.”

The music was loud and people were watching, but the only thing Louis could focus on was Harry’s broad back centimetres in front of him, and how freaking tall he was. Louis would have to stand on his tip toes to reach his height. And his black trousers were really tight. Like, Louis wore tight trousers but these were like … _tighter._

“Right,” Louis said and put his hands on Harry’s hips, “you start off by moving your hips.”

However, instead of moving his hips to the side like Louis meant, Harry just pushed them back against Louis. But since Harry was so much taller than Louis, they ended up on his tummy. Louis gasped none the less. 

“No, Harry,” he said and pushed him back forward. “I meant to the side.” 

“Sorry,” Harry chuckled and his whole body vibrated with it. “Misunderstood.”

“It’s okay,” Louis said, breathlessly. “Just, to the left and right, not back and forth. Or at least not, um, yet.”

“I’ll wait then.”

Louis was just going to guide his hips when he heard someone whistle loudly in the room. Peaking over Harry’s shoulder, he saw Eleanor staring at them smugly. “Shut up, El!” 

“I’m sorry baby, it’s just that you’re making me jealous over here!” She shouted back. 

Groaning, Louis buried his head on Harry’s black t-shirt. 

Moving his head back, Harry smirked. “Can I start grinding my hips now? Because I’ve been watching a lot of Miley Cyrus lately and I want to try out my twerking moves.”

“Oh,” Louis stuttered, “um, yeah. Like, I mean, if that’s what you want, of course, yeah.”

Wasting no time, Harry immediately bended his knees and this time, his bum was pressed right on Louis’ crotch. When he started moving, Louis had to grip tightly around his waist to keep himself from falling as Harry pushed his bum back and forward against him. 

Harry Styles was twerking against him. 

_Harry Styles was twerking against him._

Harry Styles was fucking twerking against him in his own house in front of a massive amount of strangers to The Ketchup Song by Las Ketchup. 

How exactly was this Louis’ life?

And his trousers were beginning to feel very uncomfortable and tight, and he was at the risk of embarrassing himself immensely if this were to continue. What a stupid move to wear white, super tight trousers – it was bound to end in disaster! Really, whose idea had that been? And … _right._

Louis cursed the day Niall Horan was born. 

His hands sweaty against Harry’s tight jeans, and his cheeks probably bright red, Louis cleared his throat to get Harry’s attention. “Um.”

Grinning, Harry looked up at him. His cheeks were also flushed. “You okay up there?”

 _No._ “Yes,” Louis squeaked. “I just, uh.”

Harry continued to look at him expectantly, his eyes dark. “Tell me what you want, Louis.”

Louis’ mind went blank. What did he want? A dog to cuddle with at home? A boyfriend to cuddle with at home? Surely that’s not what Harry was asking for though. 

Ultimately, Louis said the only thing he could think of. 

“I need to pee.”

“Oh.” Harry straighten up. “Out in the hallway to the right,” he said, pointing.

“I’ll be right back,” Louis said and quickly sprinted out of living room, not sparing anyone a second look. 

Louis leaned against the wall and gasped for air manically as he picked up his phone and shot Niall a text. 

From Louis: _Where are you??_

From Niall: _In the bedroom_

Seeing as Louis had no idea where the hell the bedroom was, and which one he meant, he ran through the house, looking into every room until he found one with a large double sized bed in the middle. He closed the door and walked in with careful steps. 

“Niall? You in here?” He whispered. 

If it were not Niall he was looking for, he immediately would have accepted that he was obviously not in the room, but since Niall had a habit of hiding and making Louis’ life a pain in the ass – Louis continued looking. 

He looked in the closet, behind the door and was just on his knees, looking under the bed when someone suddenly pulled down the handle. Without even thinking, Louis cursed, “Oh shit,” and quickly crawled in under the bed and laid down. 

In retrospect, Louis had a hard time explaining his actions. 

Holding his breath, Louis watched as four feet walked into the room. 

“Oh, look, an empty bedroom,” the voice belonging to Perrie said. 

Louis face palmed himself. 

“Yeah, babe,” Zayn drawled, and _wow_ , Louis wanted to die. “You thinking what I’m thinking?” 

“Probably. Close the door.”

Louis heard as the door was closed and a second later, as a weigh dropped down on the bed above him. Louis hated everything. And then, of course, there was the distinctive sound of making out. 

“You look so sexy tonight,” Perrie panted. 

“You always look sexy,” Zayn countered.

Louis made a grimace. This was so disgusting. 

“Hey,” Perrie said, “why were Eleanor and Harry talking?” 

This caught Louis’ attention. Eleanor and Harry were talking? That could not be a good sign. If anything, that was a very, very bad sign. 

“I don’t know. Think he likes her,” Zayn told her. “Went to all of her shows, didn’t he? And he did tell me specifically to invite her. Kind of think this party is just an excuse for him to talk to her, to be honest.”

Louis heart dropped. He really didn’t want to hear this. 

“That’s actually pretty romantic,” Perrie said. “Why don’t you ever do anything romantic for me?” 

Louis heard some more some more kissing before, “I think what I’m going to do to you now is pretty romantic.”

Louis literally had to put a hand in front of his mouth to keep himself from squeaking. He was so not staying for this. _Abort, code red, evacuate the area._

As quietly as he could, Louis launched his way forward out from under the bed, Zayn and Perrie clearly oblivious. 

“Oh, yeah, Zayn –“

“You like that babe –“

“Yeah –“

Louis crawled forward to the door, where he stood up, and shot a hesitant glance over his shoulder to make sure they weren’t watching when he suddenly was met with a pair of fiercely, blue yes. Perrie was staring back at him. 

“Yes, Zayn, keep it up,” she said, but her hand moved as if to say “go, go, go!” 

Needing no further encouragement, Louis pressed down the door handle as gently as he could while Perrie got even more vocal to cover up the sound. 

“Yes, YES, RIGHT THERE, YES –“

When it was opened, Louis quickly rushed through it and out into the safety of the corridor where closed the door behind him. He leaned against it and let out a relieved sigh. That was traumatic. 

“Lou, there you are!” Niall’s voice called, startling Louis. 

Louis looked to the left where Niall came, a beer in his hand and a grin on his face. “Where have you been?” 

“Looking for you.”

“In there?”

“Don’t go in there!” Louis shouted, still breathing frantically. “Trust me. You don’t want to see what’s inside.”

Immediately, a worried look entered Niall’s face. “Shit, are you alright? You look as if you’ve just been to battle or something.”

Louis looked down at the floor and sighed. “Niall, I want to go home.”

“What? Why?” Niall’s mouth was tilted downward. 

Louis pouted. “Because it turned out that Harry has a crush on Eleanor, and the only reason he’s even throwing this party is because he was looking for a reason to hook up with her.”

“Oh.” Niall went forward to embrace Louis in a tight hug. “Shit, I’m so sorry. Are you absolutely sure, though?” 

“Yeah. Someone told me.”

Niall took a step back and put his beer on a small table. “Let’s go home then.”

The two friends walked downstairs, grabbed their bags, put on their jackets and exited the house. 

There was some unknown song coming through the speakers. Maybe it was dubstep, maybe it wasn’t. Louis didn’t know. Louis didn’t care. 

They were the only ones outside, no one even going for a smoke. It had gotten quite cold as the night had progressed and the sky was dark like when Mufasa had taken over the lion nest in the Lion King, and it made Louis feel cold both physically and mentally. 

“At least I still have my sandwich,” Niall muttered and took it out from the box. 

And at least I still have my scarf, Louis thought and took it out from his bag. He was just going to put it on when the front door was abruptly opened and someone shouted, “Wait up!”

Louis turned around and saw Harry running their way, not even wearing any shoes. 

“You leaving already?” He asked, once he’d reached them. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and his cheeks were no longer bright red but back to their original pale colour. 

“Yeah, um, we have this thing –“ Louis said. 

“My grandma’s visiting,” Niall finished. 

“Okay.” Harry looked from Niall to Louis, almost pleadingly. “But why are _you_ leaving? Aren’t you having fun? Like, if you want to listen to dubstep we can listen to dubstep. It’s fine. I’ll tell them to change.” 

“Oh, no, no, no, it’s fine.” Louis shook his head. “I listen to Katy Perry all the time at home, anyway.”

Harry frowned. “What- “

Louis quickly added, “But I actually need to go. Promised Niall I’d go home with him.”

“Oh, okay,” Harry said and looked down and started fidgeting his feet. Louis wondered if they were cold. He hoped not. When Harry looked up again, his eyes were hopeful. “You’re still coming next week though, right? At the gig?”

Louis’ heart sped up. He’d completely forgotten about that. Maybe Harry was interested anyway. Why else would he invite him to his gig? Maybe he’d been wrong. Louis had a hard time creating a complete sentence. 

Harry must have noticed his lack of eloquence, because he added, “I mean, you can bring Eleanor too, if you want. That’s fine.”

“Oh.”

And there it was. _Eleanor._ Of course. Why else would popular, straight, Harry Styles invite him to a gig? Louis really did let his imagination get the best of him sometimes. 

He swallowed thickly, his stomach dropping to the floor. “Yeah, sure. I’ll bring her. Absolutely. We’ll be there.”

“Yeah?” Harry brought up his phone from his pocket. “Um, maybe you could give me your number so I can text you?” 

Louis had a bittersweet feeling in his gut. Because isn’t this what he’s always wanted, give his phone number to Harry? He just didn’t want to do it to help someone else out. He smiled anyway and said, “Yeah, of course,” while typing it in.

“Thanks,” Harry said and put it back in his pocket. “Well, um, thanks for coming and I’ll see you soon, then.”

“Yeah.”

Harry continued staring at Louis, who instantly felt very self-conscious. What were you suppose when you said good bye to people anyway? Give them a hug? Shake their hands? Kiss their feet? Give them gifts? The only thing he and Niall had to offer was Niall’s sandwich which a) Harry probably didn’t want and b) Niall probably didn’t want to give away. 

Consequently, Louis ended up saying nothing at all. The air felt thick. 

“Are you cold?” Harry asked suddenly. 

“A bit,” Louis admitted. 

Harry looked down at Louis’ hands, where he realised he was still holding on to his scarf. Harry leaned down and grabbed it before asking, “May I?” 

Louis only nodded, breathless. 

Harry took a step forward and tied the scarf slowly around his neck. Louis held his breath. When Harry took a step back again, he was examining him closely. “It suits you. You should wear it more often.”

“It’s my favourite.”

Harry nodded. “Makes you look pretty.”

And at that, Harry turned around and walked back into the house, leaving Louis to stare at his retrieving back in shock. 

He felt Niall coming up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s go home.”

\--

Louis wasn’t the sort of person who felt bad for themselves, but it did make him a bit sad knowing that the guy he fancied had a crush on one of his closest female friends. Also, that he had given him his number six days ago, and he still hadn’t texted. 

Hence, Louis found himself spending his Thursday night with the only two men he could really trust; Ben and Jerry (maybe Niall too, but he luckily wasn’t edible), watching Titanic on BBC 1. He really should have been studying for his Geography test tomorrow but he just couldn’t focus. If you have a broken heart, there really wasn’t that much you could do but to snuggle in your onesie, watching a movie.

He was at the part when Rose stood at the rail when he suddenly got a text. Expecting it to be Niall, he quickly opened it and got half a heart attack when he read it. 

Unknown number: _Hiii… this is harry :)_

Without even thinking, Louis threw the phone away from him and screamed into a pillow. He contemplated calling Niall but decided against it. He was an adult, sort of, and he could handle this himself. He walked over the room and picked up his phone, saved Harry’s number and wrote him back. 

From Louis: _Hey harry! This is Louis :)_

From Harry: _Haha I know… are you studying? :)_

From Louis: _No I’m watching titanic haha… :P_

From Harry: _No way!!! Me too!!!! On BBC 1???_

From Louis: _Yup! :)_

From Harry: _Definitely my favourite movie after love actually! Love Leonardo dicarprio!!_

From Louis: _He is very lovely <3 _

From Harry: _Haha yeah… anyway just making sure you’re still coming tomorrow? :D_

Louis had to take three deep breaths just thinking about it. But, yes, he was still planning on going. 

From Louis: _Of course! :)_

From Harry: _So um… is it just you or are you bringing El as well?_

And that was all it took to bring Louis down again and remind him of why he was eating Ben and Jerry’s on a school night. What was worse was that he hadn’t even asked Eleanor if she could come. And it would just be incredibly awkward if she decided not to since clearly the reason why Louis was invited was only so she would. Louis decided to lie.

From Louis: _Yeah, she’s coming._

From Harry: _Okay great…_

Louis stared at the phone wondering what he was supposed to text back to that, anyway. Great indeed. He ended up not texting back at all. 

When Titanic was over, Louis got a text from Harry saying where they would be and what time. He replied with, “Okay, great.” And that was that. 

\--

Louis found Eleanor at lunch, sitting with her friends. 

“Can we sit with you?” Louis asked. 

Eleanor stopped talking to her friends and looked up at Louis and Niall. “Yeah, of course.” 

Niall and Louis sat down. 

“Look, El,” Louis began, “there’s something I need to ask you.” 

“Have you hooked up with Harry yet?” She asked, grinning. 

Louis’ cheeks went warm. “No, um, that’s actually sort of what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Okay. What is it?” 

“Well, um, he invited me over to a gig with his band, and I was wondering if you could come with me.”

She looked at him incredulously. “Huh? Me? What about Niall?” 

“His grandma’s visiting,” Louis told her. “Look, I don’t want to go alone and it’d mean a lot if you came with me.”

“Well yeah, babe, but.” She looked at him carefully. “Are you sure you don’t want to go alone, though? I mean, don’t you think he means it like a date between you two?” 

Louis shook his head. He was one hundred percent sure. “No.”

“Well, in that case,” she put a hand to her chest, “I’m honoured that you asked me, and of course I will go with you.”

Louis smiled stiffly and replied with, “Okay, great.” And that was that. 

\--

Louis and Eleanor met up around 8 p.m. The sky was starting to dim, a bit like when Timon, Pumba and Simba were watching the stars in the Lion King, talking about their future. It made Louis feel sad in a way. As if he was supposed to be happy, but something just felt wrong. 

They had been walking along a long street until Louis finally announced, “We have reached our destination.”

It certainly wasn’t what Louis had been expecting. He thought it’d be at some sort cool, urban building, but instead they were at just some random house with two Volvo cars lined up in front of it. 

Eleanor frowned. “You sure about that? This Liam Payne’s house.” 

“How do you know? You’ve been here before?”

Eleanor, surprisingly, blushed. “Um, yeah, I’ve been like once.”

Louis gave her a puzzled look. “Okay. Well, should we go knock?” 

“Yeah.”

They started walking to the door but Louis stopped right before it. “Wait.” Louis turned to Eleanor. “How do I look?”

Even though Louis was well aware that Harry was straight, he still wanted to look nice. 

“You look good,” she said, smiling. “I like the scarf. It adds something to the outfit.”

“Okay, thanks.” He let out a relieved sigh. He would have said the same back at Eleanor, but he didn’t really have it in him at the moment. Instead, he knocked on the door. 

A few seconds later, the door was opened and inside stood Liam Payne. “Hey!” He greeted, when he spotted Louis. 

“Hi!” Louis said back. 

When Liam’s eyes found Eleanor, his smile suddenly faded and was replaced with shock. “Eleanor? Are you here?”

Louis sighed. So apparently even Harry’s friends knew about Harry and Eleanor’s thing, whatever it was. _Great._

“I’m as surprised as you are!” She laughed, almost nervously. Louis couldn’t quite figure her out. 

“Well, come in,” Liam said and stepped aside. 

Eleanor and Louis walked in. 

“We’re in the basement,” Liam said and started walking towards a staircase, and Louis and Eleanor followed. 

They walked down, and Louis could hear sounds of chatter and some instruments being tried out. When they were fully down, Louis saw some people sitting on a couch and some on the floor; Perrie, Zayn, Nick, cool girl from gym class, cool guy from gym class, and some other cool people. And, of course – the band. The only person missing was Harry. 

“Hey, you made it!” Perrie exclaimed when she saw them and stood up from Zayn’s lap. “Oh, El, didn’t know you’d come too.”

Eleanor shrugged. “I was invited.” 

“Oh, I see,” Perrie said smugly, and looked back to give Zayn a wink. 

Louis pressed his lips into a thin line. _Great._ Eleanor only looked confused. 

The basement walls had a faded brown colour, the couch was grey and basically what everyone wore was a different shade of black. It was like a picture taking straight from Instagram brought into real life. Louis swallowed and looked down on his red trousers which he thought had been clever to match with a red scarf. 

If he had felt like the odd one out before – it was nothing compared to what he felt now. 

Honestly. Why did the only own trousers with colours? Why didn’t he own normal jeans like a normal person? Why was he wearing a red scarf? Why was he wearing green suspenders? Why, why, why? And where the hell was Harry? 

Louis turned to Liam. “Hey, um, where is –“

As if on cue, the door upstairs opened and a strong sweet smell entered the basement as quick footsteps came down the stairs. 

Louis watched with wide eyes as Harry arrived with a massive plate of pink cupcakes with white, sparkly frosting in his hands. He beamed when he saw Louis, and had white flour all over his face and black trousers. “Louis, you made it!”

Louis’ gaze flickered between Harry and the cupcakes. “Um, yeah. Of course I did.”

“I made cupcakes!” Harry said, proudly. 

“Yeah, I can see that. They look delicious.”

“Please take one,” Harry offered and Louis took one and gave the white frosting a lick. 

“Tastes like heaven.”

“Yeah?” 

Eleanor stepped in next to Louis. “May I?” She asked, looking at Harry. 

“Oh, El, you made it too,” he said, and his smile faded. “Awesome. Yeah, please take one.”

“Thank you.”

Louis pressed his lips together. So Eleanor made him nervous, huh? _Great._

Harry put the cupcakes on the table in the middle and announced, “Feel free to eat from the cupcakes as we, White Eskimo, give you the show of your lives!”

The crowd, consisting of approximately ten people, cheered. 

Louis sat down in front of the couch, still eating on his cupcake, and watched as Eleanor sat down next to Liam. Strange. 

Harry stepped in front of the microphone. “Let’s get this house rocking.” 

Louis' phone buzzed. 

From Niall: _How’s it going? Is he in love with you yet?_

From Louis: _This isn’t a Disney movie so unfortunately no… he’s still straight. He made cupcakes though_

From Niall: _Man I wish I was there, I’m hungry_

From Louis: _I wish you were here, I’m lonely_

From Niall: _*sends you a cyber hug*_

Louis put the phone back in his pocket then, it is after all a bit rude to text during a concert, even if you don’t have a chance with the lead singer. 

The concert, or rather “concert”, went rather well. Even though it wasn’t Louis’ sort of music, he really enjoyed it. Harry’s voice was very nice listening to, and Louis lost himself in the music. And it was obvious Harry was enjoying himself as well. He shot Louis a smile every now and then, and Louis returned it with a thumbs up. 

Which is why it took Louis by surprise when a horrified expression entered Harry’s face and he stopped singing altogether. Louis followed Harry’s gaze and it landed on Liam, whose lap Eleanor sat on, and they were snogging. 

Louis gasped. No wonder Harry was looked horrified – he must be devastated! 

Harry turned around. “Stop the music! Stop the music!”

Everyone stopped playing. Harry stepped in front of Eleanor and Liam, his eyes wild. “What do you think you’re doing?” 

Liam looked at Harry wide eyed, looking a bit like a puppy. Louis wondered if anyone could be mad at Liam. By the look on Harry’s face, he could obviously. “I mean, we’ve actually been dating for a while-“

“I wasn’t talking to you,” Harry cut him off and looked at Eleanor pointing. “What about your boyfriend?”

“My boyfriend?” Eleanor repeated, incredulous. 

“Yes, El, _your boyfriend._ ”

So Eleanor and Harry were boyfriend and girlfriend apparently? _Great._

“I think I’d know if I was in a committed relationship,” Eleanor countered. 

Louis gasped. Did she just deny their relationship like that? 

Harry seemed to share his feeling, for he also gasped, before turning to look at Louis, surprisingly, and said, “Are you just going to accept this behaviour?”

“Well,” Louis said, his cheeks warm. He was the one who had brought Eleanor here after all. “I don’t know?”

Harry went over to him and sat down on his knees in front of him, and took his hands in his. “You shouldn’t, Lou. You’re worth everything.”

Harry’s eyes were strangely intense but Louis did not get a single word he was saying. “The hell are you talking about?”

“Your girlfriend.”

“Well, first of all, Niall is a boy. And second of all, we’re just friends.”

Harry frowned. “No, Jesus, I was talking about Eleanor.”

Louis’ mind went completely blank. “What?”

“What?” 

“No, no, no.” Louis looked at Harry pointedly. “ _You_ have a crush on Eleanor, not me.”

“What? Who told you that?” 

“Zayn did.”

Harry only stared at him, when Louis heard Zayn cry out, “ _What?_ ” Louis looked behind him and saw Zayn looking at him from the couch, an arm draped around Perrie. “When did I tell you that Harry had a crush on Eleanor?” 

“Um,” Louis wanted to die, “when you were making out with Perrie?”

Perrie face palmed herself and Zayn looked exasperated. “Mate, I’m pretty sure I would have remembered if I would have told you Harry had a crush on Eleanor while I was making out with Pez.”

“Well, um, it’s a bit hard to explain.”

Louis watched as Perrie whispered something in Zayn’s ear and his eyes grew bigger and bigger, until he exclaimed, “You did what?” 

“Trust me, it was just as uncomfortable for me as it was for you!” Louis said before turning back around to face Harry. His face was on fire.

“Right, well,” Zayn continued, “I am wrong sometimes. Like, don’t take everything I say so literate.”

“Well, I know that _now_ ,” Louis muttered, looking down on the floor. 

Harry cleared his throat. ”So, um, you’re not dating El?” 

“Why the hell would you think I was dating El?” 

“Because you’re always kissing and stuff, and calling each other pet names and when I started twerking against you and you left she was all,” Harry’s voice went high, “‘oh, wow, isn’t Louis fantastic? Doesn’t Louis have an amazing body?’” 

“I don’t sound like that!” Eleanor yelled from Liam’s lap. 

Harry ignored her, keeping his eyes on Louis. “And then you just left, all panicky and stuff, so I just figured I’d crossed some line. And, yeah.” 

Louis mind went completely blank. Harry was still holding his hands. “I’m single,” is what finally came out. “And gay.” 

“Okay.” Harry smiled. “Me too.”

Someone whistled. 

“Shut up, El!” Louis shouted. 

“I think we should give these two some privacy,” Eleanor said. 

“But this is my house,” Liam argued. 

“And we’re right in the middle of a gig,” unknown guy playing bass argued. 

“And I’m too comfortable to move,” Perrie argued. 

“And I’m not leaving the cupcakes,” Zayn argued. 

Harry frowned. “Hey! I made those for Louis.” 

“Well, he’s not going to eat all of them, is he?” 

“No.” Harry shook his head and smiled at Louis. “He’s sweet enough already.” 

Louis blushed. _Jesus Christ._ “Um.” 

“Ew!” Eleanor exclaimed and left Liam’s lap to walk up to them. “We don’t need to hear that. Make out, or leave.” 

Harry raised his eyebrows questioning. 

“Leave,” Louis deadpanned. “Definitely leave.” 

“Alright,” Harry said and stood up, still having one of Louis’ hands in his, taking him with him. “We’ll go then. You may keep the cupcakes.” 

Harry started dragging him towards the stairs, and Louis looked over his shoulder. “Bye everyone! It was nice meeting you. You played really well!” 

The others gave their half asserted byes as Harry and Louis walked up the stairs. 

When they were out, Harry asked, “Did you really think we were good? Because I know that you’re really into dubstep and stuff.” 

Louis’ cheeks went hot again. He still hadn't googled what dubstep was. “To be honest I just made that up to sound cool. I don’t even know what dubstep is.” 

“Oh.” Harrys said as he started putting his shoes on. “It’s like electric, sort of. Like, Skrillex, El-B, Knife Party, Kill The Noise, and stuff.” 

“Oh, right.” Louis laughed nervously. “… _those._ ” 

Harry shrugged. “Can be hard to keep track of what’s what.”

“Yeah, definitely.” The only genres Louis knew of were pop, rock and hip-hop. Or was musical a genre? 

After putting on their shoes and jackets, the two boys exited Liam’s house and started walking down the street.

“Hey, Lou, can I ask you something?” Harry asked, after a moment of silence. 

“Of course.”

Harry furrowed his eyebrows together, his features suddenly troubled and he looked down at the ground. His voice was quiet when he said, “Why are you always avoiding me?” 

Louis' stomach clenched. “What?” 

“Yeah, I mean, in school," Harry said, with more force this time. "Whenever I see you always walk in a different direction and you always sit as far as possible away from me in the cafeteria.” 

“Um.” Louis searched his brain for a good, logical explanation that didn’t make him look like a crazy idiot but he found none. It was a bit unsettling that this was a recurrent thing in his life. “Because you make me nervous?”

Harry stopped in his track and looked at Louis as if he was insane. “I – _what?_ ” 

“I, well – yeah,” Louis stuttered, his face heating up. “I mean, you’re so cool and popular, and you dress really nice and have really nice hair. And you’re always so kind to everyone. And you’re in a band.” Louis shrugged and looked down at his feet. “I’m just old little Louis who can’t even play Danny right.”

“Hey.” Harry immediately took a step closer to. “That’s not the way I see it.”

“What way do you see it?” 

Harry put his hand under Louis’ chin and tilted his head upwards. His eyes were bright green. “The way I see it is that you’re the cute boy I’ve been crushing on since forever, and had to throw a party for just to get him to talk to me.”

Louis’ heart was beating one million beats per minute. “Really?” 

“Absolutely.”

Louis licked his lips. “Hey, um. Harry?”

“Yeah?”

“Would you like to go home and cuddle with me and watch Grease?” 

Beaming, Harry giggled into Louis’ hair. “There is nothing I’d rather do.”

\--

“ _Niall_ ,” Louis hissed. “ _Niall!_ ” 

Startled, Niall turned around with wide eyes. “What?” 

“He’s coming this way, he’s coming this way.” They were standing by their lockers, waiting for their next class, and at the other side of the corridor was Harry, walking in his direction with long, thorough strides. 

Niall looked over his shoulder, and when he spotted Harry, he only smirked and started walking away.

Louis grabbed his wrist. “Don’t leave me!”

“You’ve got this,” Niall said simply, and left Louis alone with nothing but his nerves. He didn’t move though. Not this time.

Harry grinned as came closer and closer. “Hi, beautiful,” he said, before closing the gap between them, and giving Louis a through kiss right in front of all his classmates. Louis stood on his tiptoes and kissed him back. He tasted like cupcakes and sunshine and Louis never wanted to move.

Someone whistled. Louis pulled back reluctantly. “Shut up, El!”

Louis looked at Harry who took a step closer. His hand traced Louis’ chin gently. “You’re wearing the blue scarf.”

Louis fought back a smile. He did absolutely not wear that because Harry had said it made him look pretty. Absolutely not. Nope. No way. “It’s my favourite.”

Harry smirked. “It suits you.” 

“And uh, you’re wearing your black trousers,” Louis marked. 

Harry chuckled. “They’re my favourite.”

“They suit you. Which is good, because you wear them every day.”

Harry arched an eyebrow. “So you’ve noticed, huh?”

“What?” Louis cried out. “Um, no. I just guessed. But, I mean, like, if the boot fits.”

Still beaming, Harry closed the distance between their mouths again. “Shut up, Lou.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! :) 
> 
> Kudos and comments make me happy! Also, if you wanna say hello I also hang out on [Tumblr](http://djunglehaz.tumblr.com)


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